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Tuesday,
June 13, 2006

PERIPHERAL
ARTERIAL DISEASE, where the arteries that
supply blood to the legs are blocked by
atherosclerotic plaque, affects
between 8 and 12 million Americans.
And
those numbers
are expected to rise in the coming decades
as the population ages. Using a technique
developed
in the
1970’s called MR spectroscopy, the
predecessor to modern MR imaging, doctors
at the University of Virginia Health System,
including cardiologist Dr. Christopher
Kramer (left), have devised a new test
to diagnose and follow peripheral arterial
disease. Full
story.

U.Va.
Health System/Photo courtesy the Health
System

Is
our community food system sustainable?
Is it secure? Can we establish more
opportunities for fresh, healthy, locally
grown food? These were among the questions
explored by faculty experts and
students in the University of Virginia’s
Department of Urban and Environmental
Planning
who
spent the spring semester assessing Charlottesville’s
regional food system. A second meeting
of interested community members,
students and professors at U.Va. will
explore best-practices to support local
farming
and begin laying the groundwork for the
development of a Regional Community Food
Plan. The meeting will be held on Thursday
at the Gordon
Avenue Library
from noon to 2 p.m. Full
story.

U.Va. News Services

In
1960, the University of Virginia was
on the forefront of the emerging field
of nuclear energy. With an initial power
level of 1 million watts, U.Va. boasted
the
third-most
powerful
research reactor in the nation. At full
power, the reactor (above) emitted a
brilliant blue glow, caused by high-energy
electrons
as they shot out from the reactor’s
core faster than the speed of light and
slowed in the surrounding pool,
known as the Cerenkov effect — after
the Russian scientist who was finally
able to explain it. But its early
promise for a bright future was dimmed
in the wake of the Three
Mile Island
accident
in
1979 and extinguished after the
Chernobyl disaster
in the Ukraine in 1986. On July 1, 1998,
after a 38-year run, U.Va.’s nuclear
reactor closed its doors. Full
story.

Community Briefing: Building
the University of Tomorrow
7 p.m., Newcomb Hall Ballroom • Speakers: David
J. Neuman and Richard A. Kovatch, U.Va. • Sponsored
by U.Va.’s Office of Community Relations
• Free and open to the public.